Board Members
Carolyn R. Hughes, Chairman
Board
Chairman Carolyn Hughes helps the Foellinger Foundation chart its
course by contributing strategic thinking and financial oversight.
She joined the board at a time when it was undergoing a Strategic
Planning process to provide direction for grantmaking for
generations to come. A part of that process is to assure that the
Foundation adheres to the intent of the founders. Carolyn provides
vital insights, informed by her experience as an executive at Fort
Wayne Newspapers, immersed in the culture that Helene Foellinger had
influenced as publisher of The News-Sentinel. “A lot of the emphasis
on evaluation and measurement gets back to Helene’s core values,”
Carolyn said. “She was known for prudent decisions.”
In
addition to a strategic outlook, Carolyn brings a keen financial
acumen to the boardroom. Trained as an accountant (and as a
chemist), she had been CFO of Fort Wayne Newspapers before becoming
the company's vice president of sales and marketing until her
retirement.
Her
tenure with the board coincides with an ever-growing emphasis on
helping grantees establish outcomes and evaluate them in a
meaningful way. “We’re looking for value, not just numbers. We seek
to answer the fundamental questions: ‘Is it sustainable? Is it
transferable? What difference will it make?’” she said. “We’re
willing to take some prudent risks and evaluate the results. And we
try to share the lessons learned with the nonprofit community.”
Focusing on outcomes and measurements in grantmaking provides the
data needed for the Foundation to measure itself. “That’s the only
way we can assess whether we’re having an impact.”
Carolyn combines her financial and strategic skills with an
extraordinary sense of empathy for people in need. She takes great
pride in her role in the Foundation's focus on building upon
people's strengths and focusing on children and families with
programs designed to help them move from dependence to greater
self-reliance.
Mary F. Barksdale, Vice Chairman and Secretary
"I
believe we need to practice what we preach," says Foellinger
Foundation Vice Chairman and Secretary Mary Barksdale.
The
Foundation puts a lot of emphasis on board development in its
grantmaking and in workshops that it offers to grantees. "So as a
Foundation we need to implement the Best Practices that we encourage
among grantees," Mrs. Barksdale says.
Mrs.
Barksdale has been a community volunteer and trustee for more than a
quarter century, with experience on the boards of very large
institutions including hospitals and public schools. She served on a
key community committee focused on civic responsibility with
Foundation co-founder Helene Foellinger. A retired human resources
executive with a large international manufacturing company, Mrs.
Barksdale joined the Foellinger Foundation Board in 1997 after
serving on one of its committees.
"At
the time, the Foundation was seeking a person with human resources
experience to support both its board and staff development goals,"
Mrs. Barksdale says. Today she serves on the Board Development
Committee. Her contributions to board governance include:
• Developing position descriptions for officers, committee chairmen,
board members and the CEO.
• Surveying the board's strengths and weaknesses.
• Creating a formal board orientation program.
• Updating and revising a conflict-of-interest statement.
• Implementing a board affirmation statement to enlist clear
commitments from current and prospective board members.
• Conducted research for the “Best Practices” of successful boards.
• Developed Board Member Profile.
• Developed policy for term limits of board members.
"Collectively, I'm happy with the results; steps like these have
added structure to make the board more process oriented."
Mrs. Barksdale says her time working with Helene Foellinger on a
civic committee keeps her grounded in the wishes of the Foundation's
co-founder. Her leadership helps the Foundation maintain its focus
on the donors' principles and values of stewardship.
David A. Bobilya, Treasurer
Like
many nonprofit board leaders, David A. Bobilya learned his skills
"on the job" with a local nonprofit agency. A lot of board members
don't know what they're getting into, and he admits that at first he
was unsure of his role, too. He observed his peers and followed the
lead of more senior members. "Fortunately in my case it was an
extremely well-run organization. They had the 'right stuff.'"
The
"right stuff" is different from the "good stuff," which you can get
only at Pizza Hut. In his "civilian" life Dave serves as Executive
Vice President and CFO of Pizza Hut of Fort Wayne. The company
operates 45 Pizza Huts and three KFC restaurants.
Today, Dave puts his personal nonprofit board experience to work on
behalf of the entire community as a member of the Foellinger
Foundation board. He joined the Foundation's Investment and Finance
Committee four years ago, and in 2005 became a member of the board
of directors. He is now Treasurer of the Board of Directors and
Chairman of the Investment and Finance Committee — both posts
previously held by Carl D. Rolfsen, who retired at the end of 2005.
"I feel fortunate to have worked closely with Carl, who shared the
benefit of his 25 years of experience with the Foundation," Dave
says.
Dave
attended a workshop where it was observed that the most effective
organizations are those with highly active boards. "I thought to
myself, 'no kidding.'" And yet many boards fail to achieve their
full potential. Dave said he is proud of the Foundation's efforts to
be a part of the remedy to that problem.
"The
Foundation helps boards become stronger and more effective and
accountable," Dave said. He said one of the Foundation's challenges
is to be accountable to Helene and Esther Foellinger by encouraging
accountability among grantees, without becoming rigid or
bureaucratic. "Some folks feel that the Foundation is a tough place
to go for a grant because of our emphasis on measuring and reporting
results. Our board and staff take their concerns to heart, and we're
always working to find the right balance," Dave said.
The
balance, he explained, is to meet today's need but also preserve the
Foundation's resources so it can continue to meet needs well into
the future. The outcome evaluations, progress reports and other
tools are just that, Dave says — tools to meet a bigger objective.
"At the end of the day, our job is to use the Foundation's assets to
make life better for children and families in Allen County."
Cheryl K. Taylor, President and CEO
About
once a year, Foellinger Foundation President Cheryl Taylor spends
some time poking around in the foundation's archives of Helene
Foellinger's letters, pictures, business documents, newspaper
clippings and the memorabilia that marked the milestones in Helene's
life. Helene Foellinger created the Foundation along with her
mother, Esther.
"Helene was an extraordinary woman, and every time I look at the
archive, it renews my sense of purpose," said Taylor. "For the
people making decisions on her behalf, it's a great asset to have
this collection. It gives us a real sense of the people whose gift
we administer."
Today, Taylor is President of the Foundation and a member of its
board of directors. "My role is to provide leadership to the board,"
Taylor said, "helping to focus on governance responsibilities. For
the rest of the board to focus on the big picture, someone needs to
give them the big picture, and that's part of my role."
Taylor serves on the Executive Committee and on the Investment and
Finance Committee. She also provides staff support for the Board
Development Committee.
Like
any executive, many of her days are filled with meetings, paperwork,
strategy development, and administration. From time to time, though,
she is able to witness firsthand the effects of Foellinger
Foundation support on the lives of local residents. Those are the
moments she'll remember forever, she says.
"The
Foundation realizes that we as an organization don't directly do
anything to make lives better; what we do is support the nonprofits
that make these good things happen. We seek to strengthen those
nonprofit agencies that can make a difference in people's lives."
Taylor said that she and other Board members are thankful for a
staff that consists of "good thinkers with a creative understanding
of the mission and of our founders' intentions."
Taylor has been with the Foundation since 1990, beginning as Program
Officer and advancing to Senior Program Officer. In 2000, she was
instrumental in the Foundation's development of a comprehensive
Strategic Plan. She became President in 2001 and joined the Board in
2002.
"Helene and Esther gave Allen County an extraordinary gift. They
placed complete trust in the Foundation’s current and future Boards
to oversee that gift," Taylor said. "I think about that every day,
and when I see the great things local nonprofits are doing with the
funds I know that this is what the Foellingers envisioned."
Joyce A. Dulworth,
CPA
Joyce
Dulworth, CPA, joined the Foellinger Foundation Board of Directors
in 2009 because the Foundation’s strategic goals closely coincide
with her own civic interests. “I was attracted to the Foundation’s
emphasis on children and families – I think our children, locally
and nationwide, need every advantage we can give them to reach their
potential,” said Dulworth, a tax partner with BKD, LLP who works
extensively with the firm’s nonprofit clients. Before joining the
Board, she served – and continues to serve – on the Audit Committee,
which provides oversight of the annual audit of the Foundation’s
financial statements and tax return. “The Audit Committee selects
the independent audit firm to assure that the Foundation lives up to
its own standard of accountability,” Dulworth said.
Dulworth has been working in public accounting since 1983. A
native Hoosier, she and her husband moved to Fort Wayne in 1985, so
she has deep roots in the Allen County community. When the youngest
of her three sons recently went off to Indiana University in
Bloomington, she wanted to apply herself to a community role where
she could really make a difference, and the Foellinger Foundation
turned out to be a great match.
Her own service as a nonprofit board leader helps her now in
her role with the Foundation. “I appreciate the Foundation’s
philosophy of backing organizations that have demonstrated good
leadership traits and thus have been able to attract qualified board
members,” she said. “It makes sense to support organizations that
have already proven themselves to be effective with Foundation grant
dollars.”
Since joining the Foellinger Foundation Board, she has
provided a unique perspective based on her own experiences serving
nonprofits. “Sound financial management requires strategic planning
to set priorities and goals, budgets for fiscal discipline and
financial statements and reports that demonstrate accountability,”
she said. Because of her financial and tax expertise, she is a
frequent speaker for seminar programs and has been a contributing
author to BKD publications. She is a member of the Fort Wayne Estate
Planning Council, the American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, and the Indiana CPA Society.
With such a full plate, Dulworth still finds time for walks
with her black Labrador, Ally, and one of her favorite pastimes,
reading biographies. Why biographies? “Because from each book I
learn about events that influenced their lives and their leadership
styles. I get a new appreciation for the extraordinary amount of
work that it takes to accomplish their goals” Dulworth said.
Judge Thomas J. Felts
Judge
Thomas Felts, a lifelong Allen County resident, is a familiar face
to hundreds of local residents. Felts has devoted his life to making
our community a better place to live. A graduate of Central Catholic
High School, The University of Notre Dame and Indiana University
School of Law, his Hoosier credentials run deep.
He
is Chairman of the Foundation's Board Development Committee and
serves on the Audit Committee. The board development team is in
charge of recruiting, orienting and retaining a cohesive, effective
board that continues to grow in new directions. The audit team
reviews the annual audit conducted by outside CPAs. "We want to see
if there are any areas identified for improvement," he said.
In the courtroom, Felts is guided by the law. In the Foellinger
Boardroom, the board is driven to adhere to the intentions of the
Foundation's donors, Helene and Esther Foellinger.
During a lengthy Strategic Planning process a few years ago — a time
that Felts refers to as "a period of introspection" for the
Foundation — the board documented the intentions of the founders to
guide the current board and generations of board members to come.
"A
legal professional can appreciate this guidance regarding donor
intent, because when decisions come up, we can determine whether our
actions match up with donor intent or not," he said.
"In
the courtroom we have the standard of law; in the Foellinger
Boardroom we have the additional standard of donor intent. We can
ask, 'Is this consistent with the intentions and expectations of
Helene and Esther Foellinger, as documented in the Strategic Plan?'
It's very useful."
Felts is active outside the courtroom and the boardroom, too. He is
immediate past president of the Indiana Judges Association and an
avid runner and marathoner. He runs 25 to 45 miles a week. After he
catches his breath, he also enjoys singing as a liturgist and cantor
in local churches. With his musical partners, he has recorded CDs of
contemporary Christian and Catholic music.
Richard B. Pierce
Richard
Pierce loves woodworking — making furniture and doll houses. He
loves to see things take shape through painstaking planning and
hands-on attention to detail.
Those are the same qualities he brings to the Foellinger Foundation
boardroom, where he has been a board member since 2001. He joined
the board after first serving on a committee tasked with studying
Allen County's neighborhood issues. Pierce has a long history of
community involvement, as a former neighborhood association
president, a board member of nonprofits, and a former member of the
Board of Zoning Appeals and the Plan Commission. He's also active in
his church and teaches business and general education at Ivy Tech.
That's all in addition to his "day job" as a counselor.
Pierce is on the Foundation's Board Development Committee and is
Chairman of the Community Interests Grant Review Advisory Committee.
The committee is made up of volunteers with diverse interests in
improving life in Allen County. Pierce marvels at the community
spirit exhibited by committee members. "Not one person that was
asked to be on the committee said no," he said.
It's
clear that Pierce takes great pride in his role in shaping the
grantmaking activity of the Foundation as a board member. He's also
proud of his two sons and five grandchildren. In his spare time, he
enjoys making furniture and other woodworking projects. The day he
was interviewed for this article, he said he'd been working on a
doll house.
"It's wonderful to start with nothing and see something beautiful
develop as the result of your efforts."
Robert N. Taylor
“How
may I help you?” is a phrase Bob Taylor grew up hearing and saying
quite often, but the quality service aspect behind it has almost
become a motto for Taylor’s life. In 1927 Taylor’s family founded
Fuel Feed & Building Supplies, currently known as Taylor’s Do it
Center. He began working at the store when he was only 14 years old
serving hot dogs and sodas and continued with the company for over
26 years. He became president of the business in 1990 and added a
third generation to the Taylor’s Do it legacy.
In
line with his quality service mindset, Taylor took great care in
exploring options for Taylor’s Do it to expand and decided to align
the business with Do it Best Corporation, a cooperative that is
member-owned by 4,100 independent stores in all 50 states and 45
countries. Currently, he serves as president and CEO of Do it Best
Corporation in Fort Wayne. Little did he know that “How may I help
you?” and hot dogs would turn him into a CEO some day.
Taylor’s focus on quality service doesn’t just apply to the
business world. Taylor uses his time and talents in the community as
well and serves on multiple boards in diverse organizations. He
currently serves on the Foundation’s Investment and Finance
Committee and is Chairman of the Audit Committee.
That
“How may I help you?” attitude runs deep within Taylor, and his
fellow board members know they can rely on him to be there with a
ready smile and sound business counsel.